09/16/2026

Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!

There is something especially appealing about a tabletop game that lets you create the miniatures yourself. You are not simply opening a box and placing finished models on the table. You are printing them, assembling them, painting them, and gradually building the game before the first dice are ever rolled.

That is one of the things that drew me to Battle Hulks, the new 3D-printable mech combat game from Fat Dragon Games.

I have always liked mechs, and Battle Hulks puts them at the center of a rules-light tabletop wargame. The Starter Set includes the rules, unit cards, printable Hulks, terrain, tokens, and counters. Instead of buying prepackaged miniatures, players receive the files needed to print their own forces.

For someone like me who enjoys both 3D printing and painting miniatures, that is a major part of the attraction.

Printing My First Hulks

My Battle Hulks experience is still in its early stages. I have purchased the game, started reading through the rules, and begun printing the miniatures. Once I have enough Hulks printed and assembled, I plan to play a small game to become familiar with how everything works.

The FDM printing process has required a little more experimentation than I expected.

My first two attempts had issues, but the third print came out well. That tells me the models are certainly printable, although I may need to tweak my printer settings before producing the rest of the force.

What makes this slightly unusual is that I already print terrain and miniatures from Fat Dragon Games without problems using my current settings. Those settings have generally worked well for me, so I expected the Battle Hulks models to behave much the same way.

That is not necessarily a serious problem. Adjusting settings and testing prints are normal parts of the 3D-printing hobby. Still, it is worth mentioning for anyone expecting every model to emerge perfectly on the first attempt. A file may be designed for easy, support-free FDM printing, but individual printers, filament, slicers, and profiles can still produce different results.

I have also printed the first four Hulks in ABS-like resin, and those models came out looking great. The Starter Set contains eight Hulks in total, along with two hovertanks, so there is a good selection of models waiting to be printed, assembled, and painted.

The successful third FDM attempt has me moving in the right direction. Once I determine which changes work best, I should be able to apply them to the remaining FDM prints. In the meantime, the four resin Hulks give me a solid start toward putting together my first game.

First Look at the Rules

Although I have not played Battle Hulks yet, my initial impression of the rules is positive. They appear fast and approachable, which is exactly what I want from this sort of game. They are available for free on Wargame Vault. https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/582542/battle-hulks-starter-set?src=hottest

Detailed wargames certainly have their place, but they can require a considerable investment in reading, preparation, and reference material before anyone starts playing confidently. Battle Hulks looks as though it wants to get the models onto the battlefield quickly and keep the action moving.

That feels appropriate for a game about giant machines blasting one another across the tabletop.

Of course, reading rules and using them during play are two different experiences. A system that seems clear on the page can reveal questions once miniatures begin moving, attacking, and interacting with terrain. That is why I plan to begin with a small game. Starting with only a few Hulks should make it easier to learn the sequence of play and see how the individual rules fit together.

For now, however, the game looks accessible enough that learning it should not become a project of its own.

A Game and a Hobby Project

The most exciting part of Battle Hulks may be the way it connects the game with the modeling hobby.

Buying the digital files means I can print the miniatures myself, experiment with colors, and paint each machine however I want. Building a force becomes part of the experience rather than something that happens entirely beforehand.

I generally prefer skirmish games to large army games such as Warhammer 40,000. Large battles can look impressive, but assembling and painting an entire army requires a considerable investment of time before it is ready for the table. A skirmish game requires fewer models, which means less time spent building and painting before you can begin playing.

That is one reason I also like the skirmish games from One Page Rules, including Grimdark Future: Firefight and Age of Fantasy: Skirmish. Their miniature-agnostic approach allows players to use models they already own, although One Page Rules also produces and sells its own miniature designs. That combination of accessible rules, smaller forces, and freedom in choosing miniatures makes it much easier to get a game onto the table.

Battle Hulks appeals to me for similar reasons. I can focus on a handful of impressive models rather than committing to building and painting a massive army. Each Hulk can receive more individual attention, but I can still finish a playable force within a reasonable amount of time.

There is also a practical advantage to the print-at-home format. Adding another model does not necessarily mean hunting for a particular boxed miniature or waiting for it to return to stock. Once you own the files, your printer becomes the production line.

That does not make the models effortless or free. Printing requires resin or filament, time, maintenance, and—as my first FDM attempts demonstrated—occasional troubleshooting. The tradeoff is considerably more control over how you build and expand your collection.

For those of us who already enjoy printing and painting, that sounds less like extra work and more like another reason to play.

Room to Grow

I am also interested in seeing how Battle Hulks develops after the Starter Set.

Fat Dragon Games has supported its Battlefront Valkyrie game with numerous expansion sets, so I am hopeful that Battle Hulks will receive similar attention. Additional Hulks, weapons, factions, scenarios, battlefield options, and scenic pieces such as trees and buildings could give the game plenty of room to grow.

Fat Dragon Games also offers the Slaughterscape modular terrain system, which looks like an excellent platform for Battle Hulks. The promotional pictures for the game were created using Slaughterscape tiles, and the resulting battlefields look fantastic.

I already have some terrain pieces that I plan to use for my first game, so I do not need to build an entirely new battlefield before I can begin playing. However, if I really get into playing Battle Hulks, I may have to make the investment in Slaughterscape tiles. A complete printed battlefield would add another dimension to the hobby and make those towering machines look even more impressive on the table.

A steady series of expansions would also work particularly well with the print-at-home format. New releases could be added to an existing collection without requiring the game to change its basic identity.

For now, though, the Starter Set is where the journey begins.

My First Impression

Battle Hulks combines three things I enjoy: mechs, tabletop gaming, and the process of printing and painting miniatures.

My earliest FDM printing attempts were not entirely successful, and I still need to determine which settings will give me reliable results. However, the third FDM print came out well, while the first four Hulks I printed in ABS-like resin came out looking great. That has me looking forward to getting the models assembled and onto the battlefield.

The rules also appear fast and approachable on the first read. Whether that impression holds up in action will have to wait until I put a small force on the table.

This is not a full review—at least, not yet. It is the beginning of a new project. I still have models to print, settings to adjust, Hulks to assemble, and a first battle to fight.

I will return to Battle Hulks after I have played a few games and can report on how those towering machines actually perform on the battlefield.

Keep on gaming!